Darling admits failure of banker bonus tax
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Former Chancellor Alistair Darling has admitted that his tax on banker bonuses failed to change industry behaviour, because banks were able to work around the levy.
Speaking at a Nomura conference yesterday, Darling (pictured) said it is is unlikely that the tax will be revived by the coalition Government, but warned the industry could face equally tough and unpopular measures unless it becomes more “sensitive” to public feeling following the crisis.
He said: “I think it will be a one-off thing because, frankly, the very people you are after are very good at getting out of these things and will find all sorts of imaginative ways of avoidin it in the future.”
Darling is due to step down from the front bench after the Labour leadership election this month.
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Readers' comments (1)
Anonymous | 2 Sep 2010 1:22 pm
The bottom line is that if a profession generates a large sum of profit for the company then a bonus would seem feasible. However, in my profession I have also generated profit a number of times but certainly did not recieve any additional payment apart from the incentive to leave the company after a given period. In terms of what is a fair and balanced stance on these payments, this is what needs to be discussed. The role of a banker is to manage the funds/money hence creating the said profit margins is not an impossible task! Simply put - the direct nature of the role! What value in cost is there for a nurse to save a patients life? Another viewpoint - how much money can one person actually require per annum to live on based on their profession? It is actually possible to have a universal scheme to ensure bankers pay were in accordance to sensible values. What does one say when one RBS individual recieves a payout with a sizeable pension and yet leaves RBS requiring a goverment payout? The goverment can mange the system to spread the wealth opportunities across the field - for those with the will to do so, irrespective of any profession.
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